Following up on a rumor that circulated during the winter meetings, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal thinks the Texas Rangers and Gary Sheffield are a good fit.
Gary Sheffield to the Rangers makes baseball sense — the Rangers are too left-handed and the Tigers too right-handed. Problem is, the Rangers are short on money, making it particularly unwise for them to invest in a 40-year designated hitter who will earn $14 million next season. If the Tigers are motivated to move Sheffield — as it appears they are — they will need to include a significant amount of money ...
And that's probably why such a trade won't happen. Why would the Tigers pay Sheffield all of that money to play for another team next season? It's not like they'd be saving money that could then be used on a closer.
If they needed to clear a spot for a younger player to get a look, such as they did years ago when Damion Easley was released with $14 million remaining on his contract, that would be one thing. But Matt Joyce has been traded, so the Tigers don't need to make room for him. Do they want to get a look at Jeff Larish so badly that they'd shed Sheff? Would they like to use the DH spot to give Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez more rest during the season?
(I'd be mildly intrigued by some sort of package that might include Frank Catalanotto coming back to Detroit, but even if he provided a left-handed bat off the bench, I'm not sure how much he really has left to give the Tigers. Hank Blalock might also be an intriguing possibility.)
SB Nation's Rangers blog, Lone Star Ball, isn't too enthused about the idea of getting Sheffield, either.